SolarEdge System Owners: 3G Network Shutdown

[Mike 134]

I restarted the U Verse modem and all wifi extenders. It's working again.

Thanks for posting the solution

[vballdad]

I restarted the U Verse modem and all wifi extenders. It's working again.

[vballdad]

Good day
SE10000a-us is producing but not reporting/communicating with Solaredge monitoring portal, SE6000h is reporting/ communicating with Solaredge monitoring portal.
Status on 10k indicates Lan S OK and numbers S Ok. Network monitor shows activity at Modem.
Thoughts?

[vballdad]

Good day
I was given a link to my cellphone, via website, online chat, began at 5.27 pm 9/9.
I explained the need to turn on the Ethernet connection.
Back and forth texts, explaining that I understood the "issues", support saying it's not a good idea, better let installer do it, etc.
I kept negotiating, asking, and answering calmly to any worries they had. Simple things like "thank you for being so generous with your time" reduce resistance.
Chris Voss would have liked that.
I connected the ethernet and support switched the connection.
Online chat ended 6:21 pm.
It would have gone quicker except for the fact that they had an average delay of 30 seconds per text.

As Trevor Moawad would say "Neutral experience"

[Mike 134]

Update
I contacted Solaredge online chat "support". After a bit of back and forth, they switched my second "setapp" inverter SE6000h to ethernet remotely.
Works great! Both inverters are on ethernet now. Great support today!

You are one of the few that have posted sucess with Solar Edge support. (But forums typically only attract those with a complaint, so the data base is biased) How "painless" was it regarding hold times and understanding your needs?

[vballdad]

Powerline Ethernet resize2.jpg
Update
I contacted Solaredge online chat "support". After a bit of back and forth, they switched my second "setapp" inverter SE6000h to ethernet remotely.
Works great! Both inverters are on ethernet now. Great support today!
New photograph with both cables connected

[vballdad]

Powerline Network resize.jpg
A big "Thank You" to everyone on this forum who share their knowledge and ideas.
I installed an outdoor rated shielded ethernet cable from my Solaredge SE10000a-us inverter to this powerline ethernet adapter. Works well.
Waiting until the second Solaredge SE6000h inverter cellular connection fails, will run ethernet to it as well. The adapter supports 2 ethernet connections.
Wishing for an easy way to get SetApp.

[bz6000]

Hi bz6000, since you are anyway running an ethernet cable.. you can hook that up directly to your router.

As Phil mentioned, the hardwire ethernet connection is active and may not require any additional setup. You will also not need to setup the WiFi gateway or extender

That would be nice if my router was in the garage, but its very far. Since i have electrical outlet on other side of inverter, i setup a wifi extender to plug into instead of running a long ethernet, much simpler. I might post photos once completed. But yes, it is better, more reliable to run ethernet directly from the inverter directly into your router

There needs to be change in the setup: communication in the menu will need to be changed from cellular to LAN.

[thomasvt]

Hi bz6000, since you are anyway running an ethernet cable.. you can hook that up directly to your router.

As Phil mentioned, the hardwire ethernet connection is active and may not require any additional setup. You will also not need to setup the WiFi gateway or extender

[bz6000]

I, like some of us here, got an email form my installer who wanted $600 for new cellular and they would not do ethernet with wifi extender because the inverter is installed outside. So i purchased wifi extender and going to run ethernet from outside to the inside of my garage. Before I used the same conduit for high voltage to run my ethernet for Proof of Concept and it worked. But since it is not up to NEC code, i am having electrician come out to run new conduit outside to inside. For testing i did crimp my own ethernet as conduit was not big enough to fit, but hopefully with new bigger conduit by itself it should be fine. also dont forget to change in the inverter settings, i got LCD from cellular to LAN in communication menu by pressing and holding OK and then 12312312.

Could I install something like https://bit.ly/3IsvKqQ myself

Or would that need SetApp to configure ?

Would the current 3G module need to be removed and reconfigured?

And is there instead any other modules I would need to install on the inverter to communicate with the gateway.

Any help on the above is appreciated.

3g module likely can be left inside, just change what the inverter is using to communicate with the Internet

[thomasvt]

Thanks Phil! That certainly is a better option.

[oregon_phil]

I don't own SolarEdge equipment and am not an installer. So I cannot verify whether or not a specific device will or will not work. That being said, I am a technical type with some network background.

That device you referenced is a SolarEdge Wireless gateway that sells for maybe $250 and requires you to use SetApp per datasheet. Read the datasheet. The SE gateway comes with two antennas; one for the inverter. I bet once you configure your inverter to use the SE gateway for communication, the 3G module becomes moot. i.e. you wouldn't have to remove it.

Since the hardwired ethernet connection is already active in your SE inverter, my 1st choice would be to hardwire ethernet or 2nd choice use a wireless ethernet adapter as described in my earlier post. Either of these solutions would be much cheaper than the SE gateway.

[thomasvt]

Could I install something like https://bit.ly/3IsvKqQ myself

Or would that need SetApp to configure ?

Would the current 3G module need to be removed and reconfigured?

And is there instead any other modules I would need to install on the inverter to communicate with the gateway.

Any help on the above is appreciated.

[oregon_phil]

Device makers using the 3G cellular network have been notifying customers of the impending 3G network shutdown for quite a while. Now that the shutdowns are actually starting to happen, options for users are showing up, but they run the spectrum from just connecting to your home wifi network, install a 5G cellular card or the brick the device.

From the manufacturers/installer point of view, it's probably less hassle to suggest a 5G cellular replacement if you already have 3G cellular already installed. The more communication options suggested means more communications options that will need troubleshooting with more support calls. SolarEdge says the hardwired ethernet port is active by default.

Almost anybody can make an ethernet cable or install a wireless ethernet adapter, but not everybody knows how to be their router's administrator should troubleshooting need to done. Of course, you have to be comfortable and knowledgeable about electrical safety especially around an inverter.

For users in OP's situation, I would first try to pull a hardwire shielded ethernet cable between the inverter and router if possible. Watch youtube videos on how to terminate Cat5e/6 shielded ethernet cable. Buy cable, connectors, termination crimper, cable stripper, cable tester. You can buy all the ethernet paraphernalia you need, make 100 practice terminations and finally one good cable for less than $1200.

If a hardwired cable won't work, try to find a wireless ethernet adapter that you can plug into 120VAC nearby. It's possible that a USB powered wireless ethernet adapter might work, but there is always the possibility that the USB socket cannot provide enough power.

For either the hardwired ethernet solution or wireless ethernet adapter, you should know how to be the administrator for your router. At the very least, you should be able to identify your router's IP address, DHCP range, use DHCP reserve, create wireless networks and change/update all passwords. Having knowledge and control over your own home network can open up so many more equipment communication options vs what a dealer might suggest.

[SunEagle]

Unfortunately I think anyone that has 3G hardware will either have to replace it or make it hard wired. The same goes for any computer that is 3 years old or older. People will have a hard time getting it to run on the newest Windows software. Sad but true for most electronics.